Table 2.

Levels of health literacy, genetic knowledge and causal beliefs by age cohort

	Age 18–25 Mean (SD)		Age 26–35 Mean (SD)		Age 36–49 Mean (SD)		Age 50+ Mean (SD)
Health literacy (NVS score)	3.07	1.77	2.71	1.85	2.77	1.82	2.57	1.92
Genetic knowledge	2.94	1.35	2.61	1.42	2.61	1.45	2.57	1.36
Strong causal beliefs
Diabetes: genes	145	58.2%	165	61.1%	150	54.2%	111	52.6%
Diabetes: behaviors	141	56.9%	159	59.8%	172	61.9%	121	57.6%
Heart disease: genes	118	47.6%	137	51.5%	146	53.1%	108	51.4%
Heart disease: behaviors	149	59.8%	183	68.8%	187	67.5%	132	63.2%
Body weight: genes	76	30.7%	100	37.5%	113	41.1%	88	42.3%
Body weight: behaviors	174	69.9%	191	71.3%	199	72.1%	119	56.7%